FreshDirecthttp://www.businessinsider.com/category/freshdirect
en-usTue, 03 Mar 2015 16:27:46 -0500Tue, 03 Mar 2015 16:27:46 -0500The latest news on FreshDirect from Business Insiderhttp://static3.businessinsider.com/assets/images/bilogo-250x36-wide-rev.pngBusiness Insiderhttp://www.businessinsider.com
http://www.businessinsider.com/louis-borders-webvan-founder-hds-2014-4The Founder Of A Dot-Com Disaster Is Giving His Old Grocery Delivery Idea Another Shot http://www.businessinsider.com/louis-borders-webvan-founder-hds-2014-4
Fri, 18 Apr 2014 12:30:17 -0400Jillian D'Onfro
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/535143ed6da8110f1c49ed37-480-/webvan-truck-3.png" border="0" alt="Webvan truck" width="480" /></p><p>Webvan, the online grocery business Louis Borders founded in 1999&nbsp;<span>in the thick of the dot-com bubble</span>, went bankrupt only two years after it IPO'd. The company collapsed when it tried to expand outside the San Francisco Bay Area, because it had neither &nbsp;a sustainable business model nor much demand outside of the Valley.</p>
<p>Webvan's history has lived on as a story of the dot-com disaster and as a cautionary tale to delivery startups today, but Borders wasn't discouraged. &nbsp;</p>
<p>He's back to give his grocery delivery service idea a "take two," <a href="http://recode.net/2014/04/18/webvans-founder-is-back-and-hes-building-another-grocery-delivery-business/" target="_blank">according to Re/code's Jason Del Ray</a>, who discovered a stealth startup called <a href="http://mercurystartups.com/node/14" target="_blank">Home Delivery Service on the site of Borders' incubator</a>.&nbsp;</p>
<p>According to its description, HDS "offers consumers a single online store to shop for fresh foods and general merchandise from the world&rsquo;s leading retail brands." The company will have distribution centers where it will assemble multiretailer orders in returnable totes that it will send to users free, with same-day delivery.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Not only is Borders boldly going where he has gone before, but he's entering a space that is much more crowded than it was back in 1999. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/jason-ackerman-on-freshdirect-growth-2013-10" target="_blank">FreshDirect has been gaining traction</a> in more and more markets, Amazon has been working on Fresh for years, Google is experimenting with Shopping Express, Walmart and eBay have both tried to enter the market, and Instacart and a handful of other smaller startups are all working on the quick delivery of groceries, too. No one company has emerged as the obvious leader in the space yet.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Still, although there's undeniably growing interest from consumers in the idea of food and other necessities delivered fast, HDS &mdash; when and if it launches &mdash; will be facing fierce competition. Perhaps it believes that its "<a href="http://mercurystartups.com/sites/default/files/Home%20Delivery%20Service%20-%20An%20Introduction.pdf" target="_blank">patented, automated distribution technology</a>" will be the secret sauce it needs to pull ahead.&nbsp;</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/louis-borders-webvan-founder-hds-2014-4#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/freshdirect-jason-ackerman-success-2013-11FreshDirect CEO: Here's What I Learned From Starting My Business With No Management Experiencehttp://www.businessinsider.com/freshdirect-jason-ackerman-success-2013-11
Wed, 06 Nov 2013 09:43:00 -0500Alana Kakoyiannis
<p>FreshDirect founder and CEO Jason Ackerman reveals how he built up&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/jason-ackerman-on-freshdirect-growth-2013-10">his online-only grocery store to a half a billion dollar company</a> with no management experience.</p>
<p><em>Produced by Alana Kakoiyannis.</em></p>
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<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/freshdirect-jason-ackerman-success-2013-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/jason-ackerman-on-freshdirect-growth-2013-10How FreshDirect Got People To Do The Unthinkable — Buy Fish Over The Internethttp://www.businessinsider.com/jason-ackerman-on-freshdirect-growth-2013-10
Thu, 03 Oct 2013 10:30:00 -0400Kamelia Angelova and Alana Kakoyiannis
<p>FreshDirect, the online-only grocery company, has become a staple in New York's tri-state area.</p>
<p>But when the retail brand launched some 11 years ago, consumers were still skeptical about buying anything over the Internet &ndash; let alone fish or any kind of perishables.</p>
<p>Founder and CEO Jason Ackerman and his team had to also navigate a new type of delivery service that was a novelty back in the day.</p>
<p>Watch Ackerman talk about the management strategies that made <a href="https://www.freshdirect.com/index.jsp">FreshDirect</a> a household name.</p>
<p><em>Produced by Kamelia Angelova &amp; Alana Kakoyiannis; Additional camera by Justin Gmoser.</em></p>
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<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/jason-ackerman-on-freshdirect-growth-2013-10#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/freshdirect-website-down-2012-12When You Go To FreshDirect's Site, All You Get Is A Generic Network Solutions Pagehttp://www.businessinsider.com/freshdirect-website-down-2012-12
Wed, 26 Dec 2012 14:55:00 -0500Kim Bhasin
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/50db54bfeab8ea7745000005-400-/freshdirect-1.jpg" border="0" alt="freshdirect" width="400" /></p><p>FreshDirect's website is down.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-26/freshdirect-site-down-on-outage-related-to-domain-renewal.html">online grocer tells Bloomberg</a> that it has experienced a "renewal issue" with its web address.</p>
<p>Although the issue has been fixed, ISPs are refreshing their servers, so no one's sure when exactly the site will be back up.</p>
<p>If you go to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/freshdirect" class="hidden_link">FreshDirect</a>.com, you're greeted by a stock webpage for domain registrar Network Solutions.</p>
<p>FreshDirect is getting flooded by customer inquiries on <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/twitter" class="hidden_link">Twitter</a> too.</p>
<p>It's scrambling to answer questions:</p>
<p><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/50db558d6bb3f7945e000002-511-697/screen shot 2012-12-26 at 2.52.03 pm.jpg" border="0" alt="freshdirect" /></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/freshdirect-website-down-2012-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/take-a-look-at-the-company-thats-turning-subway-platforms-into-supermarkets-2012-5This Savvy Online Grocer Is Turning Subway Platforms Into Supermarketshttp://www.businessinsider.com/take-a-look-at-the-company-thats-turning-subway-platforms-into-supermarkets-2012-5
Tue, 08 May 2012 13:36:00 -0400Mandi Woodruff
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/4fa957f96bb3f7c65b000018-400-300/peapod.jpg" border="0" alt="peapod" width="400" height="300" /></p><p>Web grocer <a href="http://www.peapod.com/" target="_blank">Peapod</a>&nbsp;has found a new way to reach consumers where computers cannot: the subway platform.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/peapod-transforms-chicagos-state-and-lake-tunnel-into-virtual-grocery-store-150157015.html" target="_blank">company has outfitted one of Chicago's busiest metro stations</a> with a virtual grocery store, giving smartphone users on-the-go access to grocery aisles. &nbsp;</p>
<p>Instead of city maps and fliers, Peapod's covered subway billboards with a 2-D version of grocery shelves. On them, shoppers will find a sampling of the site's 12,000-product inventory with everyday goods like soda, pasta and hygeine products.</p>
<p>The system works by using QR codes, which users can scan from their phones and add to their shopping carts on <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/peapod/id386315393?mt=8" target="_blank">Peapod's mobile app</a>.</p>
<p>Once they've selected their items, they can schedule home delivery from their phones or organize their shopping list for later.&nbsp;</p>
<p>This is Peapod's first metro launch since rolling out its pilot program in 15 Philadelphia train stations earlier this year. The site, which functions much like <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/freshdirect" class="hidden_link">FreshDirect</a>.com, is available in 12 states throughout New England and the Midwest.&nbsp;</p>
<p>First-time users in Chicago can save $20 on their first order using promo code "CHICAGORAIL."</p>
<p><iframe width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/wrQL0V2F8r8"></iframe></p>
<h3><strong>DON'T MISS: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/12-grocery-items-you-should-never-buy-in-bulk-2012-5#skip-baking-powder-1">12 things you should NEVER buy in bulk &gt;</a></strong></h3><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/take-a-look-at-the-company-thats-turning-subway-platforms-into-supermarkets-2012-5#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-tote-2011-3Amazon Kills Its FreshDirect Killer (AMZN)http://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-tote-2011-3
Tue, 01 Mar 2011 03:10:59 -0500Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/4d6baccfcadcbb667d0f0000/jeff-bezos-amazon.jpg" border="0" alt="Jeff Bezos amazon" /></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/amazon">Amazon</a> is pulling the plug on its <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/with-amazon-tote-amazoncom-wants-to-set-a-weekly-shopping-date-2011-1">Amazon Tote</a> program, which let people order goods online and have them delivered to their doors for free, <a href="http://www.techflash.com/seattle/2011/02/amazon-pulls-the-plug-on-the.html">TechFlash says</a>. Amazon Tote was a pilot program in Seattle that many people saw as an eventual competitor to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/freshdirect">FreshDirect</a> and other grocery shopping services.</p>
<p>Obviously delivering stuff to people's doors for free is very expensive, but Amazon has a track record of investing in new businesses and letting them be unprofitable for a while if they think they can make money at the end. Apparently that wasn't the case here. Amazon still has Amazon Fresh, which offers plenty of goods for same-day or next-day delivery.</p>
<p><strong>Don't Miss: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/amanda-hocking-2011-2">This 26-Year-Old Is Making Millions Cutting Out Traditional Publishers On Amazon Kindle &rarr;</a></strong></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-tote-2011-3#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/2008/12/think-your-office-is-the-only-one-not-having-a-holiday-party-wrongThink Your Office Is The Only One Not Having A Holiday Party? Wrong.http://www.businessinsider.com/2008/12/think-your-office-is-the-only-one-not-having-a-holiday-party-wrong
Wed, 03 Dec 2008 11:55:00 -0500Hilary Lewis
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/~~/f?id=4936b65514b9b9c000f34fc6&amp;maxX=200&amp;maxY=190" border="0" alt="officeparty.jpg" title="officeparty.jpg" width="200" height="190" /></p><p>Let's all go out to a bar together, instead.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><a href="http://gothamist.com/2008/12/02/nyc_holiday_office_parties_down_65.php">Gothamist:</a> More than 65% of New York businesses are eliminating or scaling back on holiday parties this year, according to the survey of more than 200 event professionals in New York City. Of course, FreshDirect also has a solution to the problem: use their "At The Office" service to cut down on costs and party it up in your cubicles! Last month a catering company told <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=6238891">ABC News</a> that the drop-off in business is the worst it's been since post-9/11 2001.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/2008/12/think-your-office-is-the-only-one-not-having-a-holiday-party-wrong#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/2007/12/fresh-direct-in-crosshairs-teamsters-and-government-pounceFresh Direct in Crosshairs: Teamsters and Government Pounce, Workers Fleehttp://www.businessinsider.com/2007/12/fresh-direct-in-crosshairs-teamsters-and-government-pounce
Fri, 21 Dec 2007 13:21:54 -0500Henry Blodget
<form contenteditable="false" mt:asset-id="619" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image"><img alt="freshdirect.gif" src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/~~/f?id=47a93a404b5437725e759d&amp;maxX=436&amp;maxY=127" class="mt-image-left" style="margin: 0pt 20px 20px 0pt; float: left;" height="127" width="436" /></form>Federal immigration officials notified Fresh Direct that they were launching an investigation of the company's workers. Fresh Direct told its workers about the investigation. Dozens of the workers ran for the doors. Meanwhile, the workers had been discussing the possibility of unionizing. So now the Teamsters are accusing Fresh Direct of trying to bust the possible union by terrorizing employees about the federal investigation. (Full <a href="http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/12/21/pressure-mounts-as-freshdirect-turmoil-rises/">story in the NYT): </a><br /><br />Any good news here?<br /><br />Not much.<br /><br />No matter what happens, Fresh Direct loses good workers, the workers lose (presumably) good jobs, and Fresh Direct's costs (and, therefore, prices) go up, hurting customers.&nbsp; Fresh Direct's remaining employees presumably get a raise at some point, and maybe better benefits, but only by forcing the company to hose human beings who were willingly doing the same jobs for less.<br /><br />If Fresh Direct is/was paying its document-challenged employees slave wages, fine. If Fresh Direct is/was making a piggish profit and intentionally employing only people who have no legal standing on which to complain, fine. If, however, Fresh Direct is/was simply providing employment opportunities to free-willed people who chose to take them, it's time companies like Fresh Direct stopped getting blamed for the fact that citizens of other countries want to do jobs that Americans don't.<br /><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/2007/12/fresh-direct-in-crosshairs-teamsters-and-government-pounce#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/2007/10/fresh-direct-trFresh Direct Trying GreenBiz, Addresses Criticshttp://www.businessinsider.com/2007/10/fresh-direct-tr
Thu, 04 Oct 2007 10:42:07 -0400Henry Blodget
<p><img width="100" height="29" border="0" alt="Freshdirect" title="Freshdirect" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/~~/f?id=47a93b7d4b5437725f8f75&amp;maxX=100&amp;maxY=29" style="margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px; float: left;" /></p><p>
<a href="http://www.streetsblog.org/2007/10/02/fresh-direct-responds-to-environmental-critics/">StreetsBlog </a>reports that New York's Fresh Direct will try to create less traffic and less pollution and thus annoy fewer non-customers:</p><blockquote><p>
FreshDirect, the company that has built a grocery empire, in part, by using New York City's <a href="http://www.streetsblog.org/2006/11/22/fresh-direct-builds-a-grocery-empire-on-free-street-space/">free, public streets as their virtual warehouse</a>,
sent out an e-mail yesterday to let customers know of five new
environmental initiatives the company is undertaking. While the
company's non-union truck drivers may still be double-parking, creating
traffic congestion and driving recklessly through your neighborhood,
rest assured that their trucks' tailpipe emissions will smell more like
greasy Chinese food than diesel particulate matter:</p></blockquote>
---JUMP---
<p>1.&nbsp; CUTTING EMISSIONS FROM OUR DELIVERY TRUCKS.
&nbsp; &nbsp; <br />
We love that our trucks have become a mass transit system for food,
each one replacing the many cars and cabs that would otherwise be used
to bring families and food together. We're committed to making our
trucks as clean-burning and low-impact as possible. FreshDirect has
partnered with Tri-State Biodiesel, a NYC-based company dedicated to
providing the region with clean, renewable biodiesel sources. Tri-State
uses cooking oil donated from our kitchen for use in non-toxic diesel
fuel. In the next year, we plan to initiate biodiesel use in 100% of
our delivery fleet. This action will both reduce emissions and cut back
our use of fossil fuel products. Additionally, we are working with the
city to identify locations for electrical outlets so we can plug in our
trucks and refrigerate using electric engines. We hope to have our
first plug-in truck in mid-2008...</p>
<p>2. REDUCING THE AMOUNT OF WASTE WE PRODUCE.
&nbsp; &nbsp; <br />
We recently switched our delivery boxes in favor of boxes that use 100%
recycled fiber content - no virgin fibers are needed in any FreshDirect
box. We're proud to announce that within the next 3 years, we'll
eliminate nearly all of our cardboard delivery boxes, replacing them
with recyclable plastic totes and grocery bags. Since our facility was
designed with cardboard boxes in mind, switching our systems will
involve a complex re-engineering process.</p>
<p>
&nbsp; &nbsp; 3. FEEDING OUR NEEDIEST NEIGHBORS.
&nbsp; &nbsp; <br />
We work hard to make sure that surplus food doesn't go to waste.
Accordingly, FreshDirect is one of City Harvest's largest food
suppliers, helping them to feed New York's neediest.</p>
<p>
&nbsp; &nbsp; 4. INCREASING THE AMOUNT OF LOCAL PRODUCTS WE SELL.
&nbsp; &nbsp; <br />
Forging partnerships with good people doing good work has been a
FreshDirect hallmark for years, and few companies sell more local
products. Buying from farms, orchards, dairies and fisheries in the
Tri-state area reduces the use of fossil fuels, supports artisanal
craftsmanship and stimulates our local economy.</p>
<p>
&nbsp; &nbsp; 5. PROVIDING EVEN MORE INFORMATION TO HELP CUSTOMERS MAKE INFORMED CHOICES.
&nbsp; &nbsp; <br />
Environmental choices are often complicated, highly personal decisions.
That's why FreshDirect believes in offering customers the opportunity
to make informed choices for themselves and their families. We will
continue to deliver on that commitment by looking for new ways to
deliver quality food alongside thorough information. In the coming
year, we'll work to increase our selection of fish certified as
sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/2007/10/fresh-direct-tr#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/2007/7/freshdirect-comFreshDirect Competitor Bread-n-Brie Expanding to Brooklynhttp://www.businessinsider.com/2007/7/freshdirect-com
Tue, 24 Jul 2007 06:35:16 -0400Henry Blodget
<p><img width="100" height="19" border="0" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/~~/f?id=47a93cf84b5437725fa2c4&amp;maxX=100&amp;maxY=19" title="Breadnbrie" alt="Breadnbrie" style="margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px; float: left;" /></p><p>
<a href="http://www.breadnbrie.com/default.aspx">Bread-n-Brie</a> is coming to Brooklyn &quot;soon,&quot; promises Bumper Shine, which also notes that, in the meantime, the Bowery Whole Foods will deliver to Brooklyn for a mere $5.95.&nbsp; Positioned as New York's online <em>gourmet</em> supermarket, Bread-n-Brie is a FreshDirect competitor with a virtual model: The company buys food from New York retailers and producers each day to meet demand (it buys wholesale, however--no army of Peapod shoppers).&nbsp; &nbsp;</p>
<p>Started by 32-year old Ilya Zeldin, Bread-n-Brie is located in Long Island City, near the massive warehouse operated by FreshDirect.&nbsp; The company launched this spring, with deliveries to the Upper East Side and NYU area.&nbsp; It has since expanded to <a href="http://www.breadnbrie.com/t-delivery.aspx">several other areas </a>within Manhattan.&nbsp; It also finally sells...brie.&nbsp; <a href="http://www.bumpershine.com/2007/07/23/freshdirect-competition-breadn-brie-whole-foods-on-bowery.html">Bumper Shine</a></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/2007/7/freshdirect-com#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p>